Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods for controlling a locking device of an electric charging port of a vehicle, particularly a locking device of a vehicle with a so-called keyless entry system, i.e., a vehicle with an entry system that enables unlocking of the vehicle without the active operation of a vehicle key. The present invention relates further to control devices that use the methods for controlling the locking device.
Description of the Background Art
Vehicles such as, e.g., electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles, which have at least one electric motor as the propulsion source, typically have a built-in electrical energy storage device, for example, a rechargeable battery, which provides the electric power for operating the electric drive motor. An electric vehicle in particular can be provided, moreover, with a charging port by which the energy storage device can be charged. For example, the charging port can be coupled to an external power supply via a charging cable. The charging port typically has a locking device which in the locked state prevents the charging cable coupled to the charging port from being disconnected from the charging port. The locking device for the charging port can assure, for example, that the connection between the charging cable and the charging port can be disconnected only when no charging current is presently flowing across the charging port, for example, to protect the electrical contacts of the charging port and to provide personal protection. Further, the locking device can prevent a charging process from being interrupted unintentionally or by an unauthorized person by disconnection of the charging cable from the charging port.
In this regard, DE 10 2009 021 720 A1, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 7,950,943, discloses a control device for an electric vehicle with a storage device that is charged by an external power supply. A power supplying connector on the external power supply is connected to a power receiving connector of the vehicle while the storage device is being charged. The control device comprises a door locking determining device for determining a locked state of a vehicle door, a connector locking mechanism, which is provided on the vehicle and can be switched between a blocked and a released state, and a connector locking control device for switching the connector locking mechanism to the blocked state when the door is in a locked state. The connector locking control device switches the connector locking mechanism to the released state when the door is in an unlocked state.
So-called keyless entry systems are being used increasingly in vehicles. In such a system, a user of the vehicle carries only one electronic device, for example, a transponder, and the vehicle detects the presence of the electronic device and opens, for example, the doors of the vehicle or releases the starting of the vehicle, without the user actively operating the electronic device that corresponds to a vehicle key. The doors of the vehicle are, for example, locked automatically when the user leaves the vehicle. In electric vehicles, the locking device of the electric charging port is usually not integrated into the keyless entry system, because the charging process and thus the locking should already have occurred while the driver is still in the vehicle's vicinity and because the charging process should not be interrupted unnecessarily when the driver approaches his vehicle, for example, to place a purchase in the vehicle without then driving the vehicle. The locking device of the electric charging port is therefore usually controlled by corresponding control elements in the vehicle or over a wireless remote control on the vehicle key or the electronic entry device by active operation by the user. This is inconsistent with the concept of a keyless entry system, however.